Police officers in Trenton, Michigan saved the life of a man who fell through a frozen canal over the weekend.
The 58-year-old man clung to a solid floating block of ice in the Trenton canal in Elizabeth Park as officers responded after receiving numerous 911 calls around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, according to The News Herald.
Trenton Director of Police and Fire Services Steven Voss said that the man's dog broke free and began chasing geese and its owner gave chase. There were about eight witnesses at the park as the man ventured about 30 feet out in an area near the footbridge.
"The current flows pretty swiftly there," Voss told the newspaper. "It's about 14- to 18-feet deep in that area. He was in real danger."
While the dog was able to make it off the ice without falling through, its owner wasn't so lucky. When police arrived, they saw the man paddling his feet to try to keep from going under the water.
Officer Alex Baum grabbed one of the department's new "throw bags," designed for water rescues, and was able to toss it to the man. The bag has a 100-foot rope attached to it and the man was able to secure the rope around him.
Baum and three other Trenton officers, were then able to pull the man to safety.
"The man was in the water for about five minutes," Voss said. "He was cold and was treated by Trenton paramedics. He refused to be transported to a hospital, saying he was fine."
